Mel Brieseman
Encyclopedia
Mel Brieseman is a New Zealand
public health
official, surgeon, obstetrician and former missionary
to India
. Brieseman was born in Stratford, New Zealand
, and after completing his primary and secondary schooling in Taranaki left for the University of Otago
to study medicine
. There he met his wife, who was secretary to a professor of microbiology, and after marrying and graduating returned with her to Taranaki, taking up a house surgeon
job in New Plymouth
. Brieseman spent four years in this job, and by this time his wife bore four children, before the family left for England
after Brieseman was granted a scholarship. They spent a year there before emigrating to India where they worked as missionaries north of Bombay.
Brieseman spent 10 years in India as a practicing surgeon and obstetrician while his wife helped with hospital and outreach programmes in the villages. Their children were schooled 1000 km to the south, returning to their parents for the school holidays. This “third-world” work inspired in Brieseman an interest in public health, and when his children began to outgrow the Indian education system he and his family returned to Dunedin
where he completed a Diploma in Public Health. After his return Indian authorities became less accepting of foreign doctors, which discouraged Brieseman from plans to go back. He instead took on a government job as the Medical Officer of Health for the Canterbury
region in 1977, and has held the position for nearly 30 years. In this time Brieseman has monitored and managed public health response to issues such as water quality
, HIV
, smoking
, measles
, influenza
, diabetes and Legionnaires' disease.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
official, surgeon, obstetrician and former missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Brieseman was born in Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
, and after completing his primary and secondary schooling in Taranaki left for the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
to study medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. There he met his wife, who was secretary to a professor of microbiology, and after marrying and graduating returned with her to Taranaki, taking up a house surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
job in New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
. Brieseman spent four years in this job, and by this time his wife bore four children, before the family left for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after Brieseman was granted a scholarship. They spent a year there before emigrating to India where they worked as missionaries north of Bombay.
Brieseman spent 10 years in India as a practicing surgeon and obstetrician while his wife helped with hospital and outreach programmes in the villages. Their children were schooled 1000 km to the south, returning to their parents for the school holidays. This “third-world” work inspired in Brieseman an interest in public health, and when his children began to outgrow the Indian education system he and his family returned to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
where he completed a Diploma in Public Health. After his return Indian authorities became less accepting of foreign doctors, which discouraged Brieseman from plans to go back. He instead took on a government job as the Medical Officer of Health for the Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
region in 1977, and has held the position for nearly 30 years. In this time Brieseman has monitored and managed public health response to issues such as water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
, HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
, diabetes and Legionnaires' disease.